The Advent season has begun, and the more than 2,100 German Christmas markets are once again the focus of pre-Christmas activities, as they are every year. We have taken a closer look at the regional distribution and interest in Christmas markets. Our current analysis shows clear regional differences - both in the number of markets and in the interest of the population.
The result:
State comparison: Bavaria leads in total number - Berlin with the density
With 423 Christmas markets, Bavaria has the largest number of Christmas markets in the world. Germanyfollowed by Baden-Württemberg (382) and North Rhine-Westphalia (347). However, in terms of density, measured by the number of stores per 1,000 km² Berlin unchallenged with 48.3 markets. Hamburg (31.8) and Bremen (11.9) follow in second and third place. Large territorial states such as Brandenburg (2.2) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (2.1), on the other hand, lag far behind. In this category, Baden-Württemberg achieved the top value with 10.7 stores per 1,000 km², while Bavaria remained in the middle of the field with a store density of 6.0 despite having the highest total number.
Comparison of cities: Interest in Würzburg largest
In addition to the number in the federal states, individual cities in particular stand out due to their high online search volumes and correspondingly high interest among the population: In a comparison of the 20 cities with the greatest interest in Christmas markets, in Würzburg the Search volume for Christmas markets is the highest in Germany with 129 Google searches per 1,000 inhabitants per month. Dortmund (80.2) and Osnabrück (73.7) follow in second and third place. The city states Hamburg and Berlin reach comparatively low figures of 18.8 and 14.6 search queries per 1,000 inhabitants respectively.
A look at the trends of previous years
Some specific Christmas markets are particularly popular, as can be seen from the strong increase in online interest compared to others. One example is the Cranger Christmas magic in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, whose GoogleSearch volume regularly peaks in the months of November and December - over 100,000 inquiries per month at the end of 2023. The Nuremberg Christmas Market is one of the search favorites, with a peak of 42,000 search queries in December of the same year.
"Our analysis shows how diverse the interest in Christmas markets is in Germany is. While Berlin impresses with its high market density in terms of area Würzburg with the greatest interest per inhabitant, that even smaller cities can play a central role in the pre-Christmas events. It is particularly exciting to see how some markets, such as the Cranger Weihnachtszauber or the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt, attract a great deal of attention not only regionally but also nationally - a clear indication of the importance of tradition and unique experiences during the Christmas season." - Niels Stuck, founder and managing director of WOLF OF SEO.
About the investigation
For the federal state comparison, the database of www.deutsche-weihnachtsmaerkte.de/ and created a regional ranking. For the city comparison, the search volumes of 342 Christmas market-related keywords from 20 German cities were analyzed in a total of 488,200 Google searches and a ranking was created based on the monthly average. The search volumes from previous years were considered for the most searched Christmas markets.
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